Boy hurt; LR police kill hostage-taker

A Little Rock police officer shot and killed a man who was holding a child hostage in a Little Rock neighborhood west of John Barrow Road, Police Chief Keith Humphrey said Friday.

The child — who authorities believe is between 10 and 12 years old — suffered from gunshot wounds and was in a hospital receiving treatment, Humphrey said. The child’s condition was unknown late Friday night.

The incident began just after 6 p.m. Friday when a woman appeared at the Northwest police substation and told officers that a man had taken her child hostage, Humphrey said.

Officers went to a location on Karon Court, according to Humphrey, and heard gunfire coming from the property. A SWAT team arrived, and as the initial responding officers walked around the house, shots were fired inside, the chief said.

“The officers realized the child was being held hostage,” Humphrey said. “And for the safety of the child, realizing this was an active shooter incident, they gained entry inside of the house.”

Humphrey said the man “confronted the officers, and shots were fired. We then found [the] child in a separate room that appeared to have gunshot wounds also. The subject was now deceased at the scene, and the child was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition.”

Humphrey said he could not specify late Friday what relationship the woman and her child were to the slain man or reveal the man’s name.

“There’s not a lot more I can tell you, but we will be providing additional informa

tion in the very near future,” Humphrey said.

Little Rock detectives were still investigating the incident late Friday, according to Humphrey.

This was the first officer-involved shooting for the Little Rock Police Department this year.